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Soccer

Neymar slams Ballon d'Or over Vinicius Jr. ranking

Neymar wasn’t a fan of Vinicius Junior’s ranking among the world’s best players at the Ballon d’Or awards.

The Paris Saint-Germain star agreed that Karim Benzema deserved to be ranked first and win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award at Monday’s ceremony, but he felt his Brazil teammate should’ve landed higher than eighth.

“… Finishing eighth is not right. At the very least, he is among the top three,” Neymar said on Twitter, as translated by ESPN’s Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens.

Kevin De Bruyne and Sadio Mane finished second and third, respectively, to complete the top three behind Benzema. PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe was ranked sixth.

Meanwhile, Neymar was not named among the top 30 players in the world, according to votes collected by the French news magazine France Football. He ranked 16th last season.

Vinicius’ eighth-place ranking, however, is a massive improvement a year after he failed to crack the top 30 himself at the 2021 Ballon d’Or award ceremony.

The 22-year-old’s jump up the rankings comes in recognition of a breakout season, putting up 22 goals and 20 assists in all competitions.

Vinicius was also pivotal in helping Real Madrid capture a record 14th Champions League title, scoring the winning goal in last season’s final against Liverpool.

NFL

With Dak Prescott, what will — and won't — change for Cowboys' offense?

FRISCO, Texas — It’s an easy question without an easy answer.

What changes about the Dallas Cowboys’ offense in Dak Prescott’s return from a fractured right thumb, potentially as early as Sunday against the Detroit Lions (1 p.m. ET, CBS)?

Nothing and everything.

Nothing changes, because how the Cowboys (4-2) played in their five games with quarterback Cooper Rush starting in place of Prescott is how they designed their offense in the offseason. When the team traded wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns and did not replace him with a proven veteran or high draft pick, the plan was to be a run-first operation and play to the defensive strength of the team.

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Everything changes, because Prescott can do more than Rush. Despite the calls from certain segments of the fan base or national media types wishing for drama, there was no quarterback controversy and there never was going to be. Even owner and general manager Jerry Jones’ comments that he hoped there would be a controversy were about the team winning games without Prescott.

This was not 2016, when Prescott took over for an injured Tony Romo. After losing the opener, the Cowboys won 11 straight games that season. They failed only once to score at least 24 points during that winning streak.

Under Rush, the Cowboys topped 24 points only once, scoring 25 against the Washington Commanders.

While the Cowboys did not feel handcuffed offensively with Rush as their quarterback, Prescott’s ability and experience opens up more possibilities. However, the Cowboys don’t want Prescott to feel like he’s returning as the conquering hero, needing to do everything for the team to succeed.

All signs point to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott returning Sunday from a five-game absence due to a fractured right thumb. Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire

When Prescott has been at his best, the Cowboys have had a complementary bent, even when he threw for 4,900 yards in 2019 and set a franchise record with 37 touchdown passes last season.

“I just think Dak needs to play his game — if he goes this week,” McCarthy said.

Prescott said after last week’s loss to the

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